History of Pawnee
A Chronological Retelling of The Events That Shaped Pawnee, IN.http://www.pawneeindiana.com/about/history.shtml Timeline 1817 * May: Rev. Luther Howell of Terre Haute plants first flag in Wamapoke soil, claiming it as white, Christian territory. Consecrates First Lutheran Church. * June: The Native American Wamapoke Tribe expresses confusion over Rev. Howell’s actions, pointing out that they had lived here for hundreds of years. Rev. Howell listens intently. * June: The Wamapoke Indians are politely asked to leave Pawnee. * July: Wamapoke Indians forcibly removed. * Pawnee incorporated as a town; second and third Lutheran churches founded. 1818 * First mayor, Charlton Sharpspeed, takes the oath of office. * Mayor Sharpspeed resigns due to corruption/sex scandal. 1834 * The trial of Chief Wamapo. He was accused of "being Indian", which was punishable by death. 1849 * Fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth Lutheran Churches founded. * Sarah Nelson Quindle exposes her elbow outdoors. She is set adrift on Lake Michigan in punishment. 1860 * Pawnee’s first schoolhouse built. This one-room school boasted two teachers, and taught children aged 3 to 28. 1867 * Reverend Turnbill officiated a wedding between a white woman and a Wamapoke Indian chief. The secret ceremony was beautiful and romantic. But then word got out and the reception was a bloodbath. Fortunately, there were two survivors. Unfortunately, they were both horses. 1883 * Mayor Everett Falwell resigns due to corruption/sex scandal. Replaced by Pawnee’s first non-Lutheran mayor, Charles Calloway. * Mayor Calloway resigns due to corruption scandal. 1906 – 1923: Pawnee’s Fire Period 1906 * Boone Bread Factory Fire 1910 * Great Pawnee Fire of 1910 1911 * Pawnee Downs, used for horse races and cock fights, burns to the ground. 1914 * A Jewish ornithologist who was headed for the Mississippi River took a wrong turn, and wandered into Pawnee looking for directions. The mayor at the time had never seen a Jewish person before, and, believing him to be some kind of rare alien creature, placed him in the zoo's abandoned otter cage. 1914 to 1917 * The Terrible Three Year Fire Of Pawnee 1919 * First firehouse, ironically, burned to the ground. 1922 * June 8: In what became the most famous of Pawnee's fires, the Pawnee Bread Factory burns to the ground. Thanks to the heroic actions of then-mayor Walter Percy, the secret recipe for Pawnee Pumpernickel is saved, and that delicious treat is still made today! (Also, 33 people perish in the fire. We honor their memories.) * Suspected arsonist Arthur Dansbury-Witt convicted of forty counts of arson, sentenced to immolation in a public square. Thousands cheer at his burning, which is held in the center of Ramsett Park. Fire used to execute Dansbury-Witt spreads to newly-rebuilt Pawnee Downs, burns it to the ground. 1923 * Pawnee schoolhouse burns to the ground, spreads rapidly to newly-rebuilt Pawnee Downs and most of the west side of the city. This is Pawnee’s largest fire to date, and clears Dansbury-Witt’s good name. 1924 * Re-sodding of entire city; end of Fire Period. 1926 * Local lady anesthesiologist and recluse, Agnes Porter accidentally invents trans fats while mixing chemicals in her basement laboratory. Aggie becomes the “toast” of the town – and her products are spreadable on “toast!” 1935 * Pioneer Hall is constructed within City Hall. 1945 * End of World War II 1973 * A traveling magician comes to Pawnee and pulls a rabbit out of his hat, the superstitious citizens of Pawnee then burn him at the stake. 1974 to 1976 * Pawnee is overtaken by The Reasonabilists, a doomsday cult that worships Zorp the Surveyor. 1985 * Mayor Stuart Knudson is pushed out of a helicopter while handcuffed by Serbian mafia members. His body explodes upon impact. Stuart Knudson didn’t actually die, he faked his death. He comes back as Garry Gergich married to the most beautiful woman in Pawnee. Retruns often to the city of Muncie, the local mob headquarters. 1986 * Pawnee icon Li'l Sebastian is born. 1990 * Pawnee makes national Top 100 Cities lists, selected as “#76 Best Place To Own A Horse,” and “#4 Most Obese City.” 1998 * Local actress Vivica B. Fox, star of a Wendy’s commercial, returns triumphantly to Pawnee to take the lead in Pawnee’s Summerstage production of “Our Town” which plays to mixed reviews. 2014 * Eagleton, Indiana is de-incorporated, and reabsorbed into Pawnee. The area formerly belonging to Eagleton is known as "Old Eagleton". 2025 *Former Pawnee Councilwoman Leslie Knope is elected Governor of Indiana. References Category:History